One of the more common means of informing fortunes and offering insights into the yesteryear and future is the tarot. Tarot cards primary originated in Italy in the early half of the fifteenth century as a card game, used purely for recreation. This early game was something like the latest game of Bridge. The use of tarot cards for divination is leading recorded in the early 1700s and by the end of the 18th century; changes were made to tarot cards to make them more instrumental for divination and esoteric meanings. Originally, tarot cards had no connection to the occult, and this link is a more up-to-date one than the cards themselves. The specifics of the modish cards, cooked up for esoteric purposes, show their basis in the 19th century.



A typical tarot deck contains 78 cards consisting of the four suits seen in regular card games, which are hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. The Latin version of the tarot deck has a unlike set of suits. They are swords, batons, cups, and coins. Like a regular deck, tarot cards are numbered from one to ten plus the four court cards; jack, queen, king, and ace.The difference between a tarot deck and the regular deck is the twenty one divinity cards termed Major Arcana. A joker equivalent in the tarot deck is termed the fool, or the excuse. The fool could take all four suits and acts as the hardiest trump card.

Meaning is assigned to each card in a tarot deck; yet, the specifics of interpretation are impacted by the layout of the cards, whether they are upright or reversed, and the interpreter's own understanding. Multitudinous of the cards in the major arcana, the trump cards, are fairly logical. The Lovers represent adore, in some bulk, while Strength is symbolic of courage and drive. Each of the cards in the minor arcana also carries meaning when used for divination, based on both the numeric value of the card and which suit it is. Meanings of each card can be found online, in books, or simply by interpreting the images on the card.

When card readings are conducted face-to-face, the card reader will at times ask the querent to shuffle the cards as they concentrate on the question. The querent will sometimes be asked to split the deck into three piles, and then to put the deck back together again. The card reader then lays out the cards in a specific pattern, and each card has a various meaning, depending upon the layout used. For example, the card reader may layout three cards, one to signify the days gone by, one for the present and one for the fate: all three cards together give a padded interpretation of a given situation.

Card readings over the telephone are conducted much the same custom that card readings face to face are conducted. A querent (caller) will call into a reader, and the reader will ask the caller to concentrate on a question that he or she wants answered or clarified. The card reader then shuffles the cards and lays them out in a particular pattern. Popular patterns include a single card studying, a three card deciphering, and a Celtic Cross translating, which is a studying of 10 divergent cards. The card reader will examine the symbolism in each card, in addition to the card position to conclude what the cards convey.

Tarot cards have a long past events, both as a simple card game and as a device for divination. The neoteric usage of these cards is purely esoteric. If you are interested, you should keep in mind that tarot cards are only as helpful as the reader is perceptive, and that while you may leave with some clarifications of your own thoughts, more than that is unlikely.